Und at the end of the game year another day trip to Strasbourg. Sounds like a fun ride for all national players who still feel like kicking a bit after the season has ended – but it’s not. “It is important to build up the tension again,” said Martina Voss-Tecklenburg on Wednesday. The national coach values opportunities to compete with top opponents more than many other things.
And a duel with France’s selection this Thursday (8:55 p.m. at sportschau.de), who have made it to the quarter-finals at major events for years, belongs in this category. Especially since the German team was only challenged once at the highest level in this season, which was characterized by many easy victories in the European Championship qualification: at the end of February in the 1: 2 defeat against European champions Netherlands. A planned trip to the country of the world champions United States had to be canceled for the second summer in a row due to the pandemic.
Arrival on match day
From the quarter of the DFB convoy in Neu-Isenburg near Frankfurt it is only 220 kilometers to the venue Strasbourg, so that the team will only arrive on the match day and return at night. It is, if you will, the start of the duels between Germany and France – four days later the men will also start in this constellation in the European Championship.
It was originally planned to tackle the France game as an endurance test for the alleged core formation and the match on Tuesday in Offenbach against Chile as a probation opportunity for the youth. But with Marina Hegering, Sara Doorsoun, Kathrin Hendrich, Alexandra Popp, Lina Magull and Melanie Leupolz, many regular employees are now absent due to injuries. Dzsenifer Marozsan gives a guest appearance in the American professional league. The French legionnaire Sara Däbritz from Paris Saint-Germain also has to pass against her host country.
“The team will have a different face than initially planned,” said Martina Voss-Tecklenburg. The national coach would not be herself if she did not see the long list of dropouts with the names of “established, important players” as an opportunity.
As an opportunity to gain lasting knowledge for themselves and as an opportunity for the guard of the younger, less experienced players in the squad to prove themselves. The 53-year-old expects a “huge added value” from seeing “who the real alternatives are”. Of course, also with a view to the next tournament taking place in a year, the European Championship in England.
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